I’ve Loved You So Long (2008/Sony DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: B- Extras: C+ Film: B-
Kristin
Scott Thomas is a really good actress who has endured an uneven career, but is
very respected. Recently, she played an
ex-surgeon who had just served 15 years for a criminal act that ruined her life
and many of those around her. In I’ve Loved You So Long (2008), she
gives one of the most painful and incredible performances of her career as
Juliette, gutted out by time and loss, not all together, totally out of her
element and still paying for her past.
She goes
to live with her sister Lea (Elsa Zylberstein) since she has nowhere to go and
that is barely working out. She is
dumped on, her character attacked, is having sometimes serious adjustment
issues and we see it the long, hard way in one of the boldest performances of
the year. Writer Philippe Claudel makers
his directing debut here and the film challenges us to ask ourselves what
redemption is. Can anyone truly pay for
damage they cannot undo? At what point
is enough enough against someone responsible?
How ugly can people get? Is she
actually unforgivable and deserves perpetual condemnation?
There are
no easy answers and that is the point of this film. It is not perfect, can be uneven and in some
ways, I wished it would have dug even deeper, but then there is Thomas here
really in a dark place and it comes across on screen every second you see
her. That is for most of the film. So even if parts get trying, patience pays
off. We definitely recommend I’ve Loved You So Long.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image looks decent throughout, though this DVD
is a little soft and weak in the detail department. Fortunately, there is a Blu-ray out there and
we expect Director of Photography Jerome Almeras’ subtly dark work comes across
better there. The Dolby Digital 5.1
maybe dialogue-based, but plays very nicely with a good use of surround in
ambient and other ways. The English dub
could have been better, but the original French is the way to go as
expected. Extras include that English
track with Thomas dubbing herself and a very good audio commentary track by
Claudel.
- Nicholas Sheffo
